


Waiting For Superman

by Lovely_Reira



Series: Superman [2]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M, Gen, I listened to don't let me down a lot while writing this, If people give me prompts I'll try to write happy things, Kind of angsty, Mentions of rape and murder, Pregnant Reader, Serial killers with dumb names, So I might change the name to that, at least it isn't as edgy as "Prince of Darkness", i just always think of angst, little children - Freeform, why do I always write suffering
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-11
Updated: 2017-10-05
Packaged: 2018-09-23 14:18:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 22,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9660884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lovely_Reira/pseuds/Lovely_Reira
Summary: "Please don't kill me! I'm pregnant!"These words may save Y/N's life but, they also assure her fate. Will the BAU ever be able to save her? Or will she forever just be waiting for her superman?(Cringey description. Story is probably better)





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is more of a prologue than anything so sorry for shortness

"Please, don't kill me! I'm pregnant!"

Y/N had known that the unsub wouldn't kill her if he knew. It went against his principals, his religion. 

The media called him The Bloody Angel due to the blood stained white feathers he would leave at his crime scenes. It was dramatic, the media usually was. However, the man that stood before her now was far from an angel. No, he was a short man with blonde hair and brown eyes. Stocky. Strong enough that he was able to overpower Y/N with ease. They had profiled that he was a very religious man and that was why so many of his victims were prostitutes. 

Y/N should have known better than to go anywhere without one of the others, her features resembled that of the victim's too much to have risked it. However, she thought that her gun would be enough to protect her. She was wrong. Now she sat in front of the man a cage keeping her, with her own gun aimed at her face, pleading with him to spare her life for the sake of the child growing inside of her. 

"Please...I'll take a test to prove it if you don't believe me," Y/N told the man in front of her, her arms wrapped protectively over her stomach. 

The man eyed her, looking for signs that she was lying to him. He found none. "How far along?"

"I just found out a couple days ago, no more than a couple of weeks," she told him. 

"Does the father know?" 

She shook her head. "I didn't get a chance to tell him. Catching you took priority." 

He licked his lips, thinking for a couple seconds before putting the gun in the waistband of his pants. Y/N let out a breath that she hadn't realized she had been holding in. 

"I swear, if you're lyin' to me I'll gut ya," he threatened before leaving abruptly, no doubt to get something to confirm what she had told him. 

It didn't take long for him to come back, dropping a bag with a couple boxes of pregnancy tests. "Take 'em. Now. All of 'em."

Y/N did as commanded, setting each test down where he could see once she was done. In total, she took five. They all came up positive. 

"I told you. So please, let me go." 

"I can't do that. You've seen my face now and you'll tell all your little FBI friends what I look like and get me caught. You understand, dont'cha?" He said. 

Panic set in once more. "You said that you weren't going to kill me!" 

"You're right and I won't. You will be safe for at least until that baby is born. After that your survival depends on how good you are, sweetheart," He told her. "So if you wanna live a long happy life with your baby then you better behave."

-

"We'll find her Reid, I promise. Y/N is smart, I'm sure she is already thinking of a way to get back to us." 

Spencer couldn't stop pacing back and forth, his brain working as fast as it could. Flashes of names, both of suspects and victims. There was just too many and they only had approximately fifteen hours until Y/N's body would turn up, just like the others.The mere idea of it was enough to drive Spencer mad. Not being able to save her in time wasn't an option. His thoughts were clouded by his own thoughts and anxieties. 

"Reid, you are gonna stay here. Prentiss and Morgan are gonna go to where we think she was taken from and see if we can find anything. See if anyone saw anything. I'll be holding a press conference and will make an appeal for anyone who might have seen or heard anything to come forward," Hotch told them, before walking over to JJ. "Stay with him. Make sure he doesn't do anything reckless," he said quietly, to which she nodded. "Rossi, get in touch with Garcia, have her do another background check on the list of suspects, see if she can narrow it down." 

That was all he said before leaving the room, going off to speak to the reporters. The others beside JJ and Spencer all left to do as Hotch told them. 

"I don't understand why she would go off on her own. She should have waited till I got back and I would have gone with her to talk to them. Why has she always been so impatient? At the very least she should have been more careful. Why wouldn't she have pulled her gun on him?" Spencer rambled on. 

JJ stood in his path to stop his pacing since, quite honestly, following his movements was making her dizzy. "Spence, you need to sit down and relax, okay?" 

"He must have either surprised her or he was enough of a smooth talker to convince her to trust him. The latter is highly unlikely since she wouldn't trust just anyone, especially in this kind of situation, not to mention she would have noticed if he was acting strange. That means he must have been strong enough to restrain her. His other victims were a lot less physically capable so it didn't really give us much but, I've seen Y/N take down plenty of men. She is resourceful so he has to be keeping her somewhere that isn't easy to get out of since there were no drugs found on the previous victims nor ligature marks. If it was anywhere she could have easily escaped then she would have by now."

"That's all things that we had previously assumed."

"Yes but, if I go over everything again then it's likely I'll figure something out. Maybe notice something that we had missed before" he told her. 

"Dr. Reid? Someone dropped this off at the front desk. It's addressed to you. We haven't opened it yet," a younger officer said, handing him a manila envelope with his name written on it.

Spencer nodded and muttered a thank you to the officer before opening the envelope and taking out a photograph, seeing the back of it first where there was crudely written note. "You'll never find the body," he read aloud before flipping the picture over. His entire body tensed. He stared at the picture, unable to look away. 

JJ put her hand on his arm. "Spencer, what is it?" She peeked over and audibly gasped when she realized the contents. 

It was a picture of Y/N in a pile of blood. There was no visible wound but, with the amount of blood, it was almost impossible for her to survive. Without a doubt, Spencer had realized this too. She looked up at him and for the first time she couldn't see the gears in his brain turning. There was nothing. 

"I-I need to sit down," he said breathlessly, to which JJ quickly pulled out a chair for the younger male to practically collapse into. 

JJ took out her phone and called Hotch who picked up almost immediately. "Call back the others. There is something everyone needs to see," she said, her voice shaking despite the effort she was putting towards staying strong. 

-

When Y/N woke up she realized immediately that she had been changed into a new pair of clothes, that and that she was in the trunk of a car. Where she had been wearing pants before, she now had on a dress. Her arms were tied behind her back, her feet tied to. Tape was placed over her mouth. Not that screaming would do her a lot of good. 

She didn't know exactly how long she had been in the trunk but, based on the soreness of her arms, she would assume it had been a while. The car slowed to a stop and Y/N heard a car door slam closed then footfalls coming closer. The trunk opened and she saw the man standing over her. He reached down and pulled the tape off of her mouth. 

"You thirsty?" He asked gruffly, holding up a water bottle. 

Y/N nodded, her mouth felt dry and becoming dehydrated would only hurt her. She watched carefully as he opened the bottle and moved it towards her. "You first."

He seemed confused for a moment before understanding what she meant and bringing the bottle to his own lips, taking a swig. Then he put it against her lips, tipping it so she could drink. The liquid dripped from her lips and onto the interior of the trunk once her mouth was full. It was only then that he pulled the bottle away. 

"Where are we going?" Y/N asked him. 

He smiled down at her. "To start a new life, sweetie."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliffhanger! DUN DUN DUN! 
> 
> Feel free to leave feedback...*whispers* please be gentle with me...


	2. Five Years Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five years have passed, the trail is cold, and Y/N is presumed to be dead. 
> 
> What will the team do when another body appears with the same M.O?

>Five Years Later<

Penelope sat in front of the others who, with the exclusion of Spencer, were staring at there tablet with pictures of a the latest victim. 

"Rebecca Jefferson was found beaten, raped, and shot in the head two days ago. Her body was left in a park where she was found by Andrew Conway who had been walking his dog."

Morgan looked up. "Not to sound insensitive but, what's special about this case? This doesn't sound like something they would usually call us in on." 

Garcia hesitated, glancing at Spencer. "Found at the crime scene was a single feather, partially coated in the victim's blood."

This caused every head in the room to look up.

"So you think that "The Bloody Angel" has reappeared?" Hotch asked. 

"I do. The victim is similar in appearance, the M.O. is the same, and there is even the signature of the bloody feather," Garcia said. "I wouldn't have brought it up if I didn't think there was a good chance it was our guy."

Hotch sighed. "Alright. Wheels up in 30." 

-

"Mama! Mama!" A small voice called out, running down the stairs. 

"Slow down kiddo. I gotta unlock the door for ya," a deep voice chuckled, following after the boy. 

The older man reached the metal door at the bottom and unlocked it, pushing it open so that the boy could go through. He did without waiting and ran straight into the arms of his mother. 

Y/N smiled down at her son and kissed the top of his head. "Hey Alec, baby. How was school?" 

"It was fun, Ms. Amy read to me when no one wanted to play with me!" The little boy exclaimed happily. 

"I hope she wasn't a better reader than me, I wouldn't wanna lose my reading buddy," Y/N said, pretending to be sad. 

The young boy instantly shook his head fiercely. "No way! Mama is a much better reader! Ms. Amy reads too slow." 

Y/N giggled at her son's words. "I'm glad to hear that. How about you go wait for me on my bed and then you can draw me a picture from the story Ms. Amy read you."

Alec nodded, looking between the two adults. Even at his young age, he knew that was just grown up talk to tell him to go away while the adults talked. He bounded off, grabbing his paper and crayons before climbing onto his mother's bed. 

"I saw the news, Jackson. You killed that girl, didn't you?" Y/N hissed at him, her voice low enough that Alec couldn't hear. 

"She was just a prostitute, nobody will miss 'er. Would have killed herself with drugs anyway."

She sighed in annoyance. "Did Alec see?" 

Jackson shook his head. "I don't think so. He was in the car when I dropped the body off but, I don't think he saw anythin'." 

"Keep my son far away from that shit." 

He glared at her. "If that boy learned how to handle sluts like the bitch I killed it would be a good thing." He told her. 

His glare was met with an equally fierce one. "Alec will be a good man. Nothing like you." 

"I am a good man, sweetie. I'll be back down here with dinner later," Jackson said before turning and leaving through the door he came through, locking it. 

Y/N took a deep breath before turning around. "How's your drawing going, baby?" 

-

Hotch was keeping Spencer as far from the action of this case as possible. There was no way of knowing what he would do in a case this personal to him. Hotch knew from experience how something like this could affect someone. They were all a little bit on edge with this case so he was keeping a close eye on his entire team. 

Currently, Rossi was with him as they looked at the crime scene. 

"We're gonna find this guy this time, Hotch. He won't get away with this," Rossi said as he watched them take pictures of the body. 

Hotch nodded. "I know. Cause I'm not gonna rest until he is sitting is behind bars for life or dead. He hurt my team, Dave. I let him get away with it once, it won't happen again," he told him. "Let's go." 

The dark haired man headed back to the drivers seat of the car with Rossi following behind him. It was going to be a long night for all of them. 

-

Days passed. Another woman's body was found in the park. Y/N ignored it as best she could, there wasn't anything she could do about it and thinking about her son being so close to dead women made her feel sick and angry. So angry that she was tempted to bash Jackson over the head to get her and Alec away. There was too much fear of what he would do if she failed to even attempt such a thing. 

As long as Alec didn't know what was going on, she could deal. She just wanted her son to grow up with as normal a life as he could with the situation they are in. 

Alec was so much like his father already that it was almost scary. Though it brought a smile to her face when her son would start rambling about something that got him excited or when he would look at her with those sweet puppy brown eyes. Not to mention that Alec was already so smart, being able to recite word for word things she had read to him or that he himself had read. Having him with her was probably the only thing that got her through the day. 

That, and the hope that her team was still looking for her. She hoped every night that they would come through that metal door and she would be safe, Alec would be safe. Often, she would sit and tell Alec stories from her days with the team. Of course she altered them to be more child friendly where the team was a group of knights that saved people from monsters. Those stories were his favorite, even over all the books she would read to him. Though, Y/N had a sneaking suspicion that it was because he could tell that they were your favorite to tell. 

The stories were as much to entertain him as they were to remind her of all the good out in the world and how good her team was. Y/N just hoped that they were better than Jackson. 

-

A young woman with red hair looked over the shoulder of young Alexander Campbell, at the picture he was drawing. 

"Hey Alec, whatcha drawing?" She asked, sounding friendly but, there was an edge of concern in it. 

Alec didn't look up as he scribbled with the red crayon. "The lady I saw in the park last night." 

Amy nodded slowly. "Why is she all covered in red?" 

"Cause she is bleeding." His words were blunt, like he was stating the obvious.

"What happened to her?"

Alec looked up. "I don't know. I just saw the man in black put her in the woods."

She smiled at him. "Oh okay. I'm gonna be back in a couple minutes, Alec. I gotta make a phone call." 

-

"Reid, I need you to go to a local pre-school." Hotch came into the room where they had set up shop, seeing Spencer sitting at the table and looking through the information they had uncovered at this point. 

He looked up with confusion etched all over his face. 

"We just got a call from a woman who works there who thinks that one of the children there saw Katelyn Strong's body being dumped last night. He was drawing a picture of it," Hotch explained. "Don't worry, I'll hold down the fort here."

Spencer had not intentions of arguing, being holed up in here was making him stir crazy. So he grabbed what he needed and left towards Hamilton Preschool. When he arrived, it wasn't far through the day at all, just hitting snack time aka nine a.m. He was instantly spoken to by the woman who called them, Amy McCallistar. 

"Alec is over there, sitting alone. He doesn't really get along with the other kids."

Spencer quirked his eyebrow. "Is he antisocial?" 

Amy shook her head. "Not at all. He is a sweet little boy. The other kids just don't like him much. Alec talks too much and is too smart for his own good. Not to mention he is small for his age. You know how kids are. They don't like different."

Spencer knew that all too well. He walked over to the small boy who was currently eating a peanut butter cracker. 

"Hi Alec, I'm Dr. Spencer Reid. I'm here to talk about what you saw last night with you. Is that okay?" Spencer asked him softly. 

Alec looked over at him and nodded. "You have the same name as one of the knights from mama's stories." 

Spencer smiled. "Oh really? Does your mom tell you lots of stories?"

"Yeah. The ones she tell me about the knights are her favorite." 

"Can you tell me a story? About what you saw last night? If you tell me that story then you can help us catch the bad guy and you'll be just like a knight from the stories," Spencer said. 

Alec giggled. "I can't be like them cause they catch monsters plus they are just stories," he said in a 'don't be silly' tone. "I'll tell you about last night. Dad took me out for ice cream at 7:13. Mama doesn't like when I have sweets that close to bedtime but, Dad said it would be okay as long as I didn't tell her. We ate our ice cream in the car at the park. Dad got out of the car to throw out our napkins and I saw the man carrying the lady covered in blood. He put her in the grass. I closed my eyes after that cause I was scared he was gonna hurt her more. I didn't open them till me and Dad got home. I didn't see the clock before we got out of the car" 

Spencer was surprised that the kid remembered such a specific time. Usually kids that young would only have a vague idea of when, if any at all. At least this gave them a better idea of when the body was dropped. 

"You remembered quite a lot Alec. Do you remember what the guy looked like. Was he tall like me or short like Ms. Amy?" 

Alec thought for a second. "In the middle. He was fatter than you though, I think," he told Spencer. 

"Do you know how old he was?"

"Old." 

"Was he old like me?" 

Alec shook his head. "No I think that he was older, like my dad." 

"This is going to help us a lot Alec. You are very smart, you know."

Alec nodded. "Mama says that too. She says I get it from my dad but, dad isn't very smart at all." 

Spencer chuckled at his words. "Maybe your mom just loves your dad enough to think he is smart," he told him. 

"No. Mama hates dad. She acts nice to him when I'm around but, when she thinks I'm not watching, she looks at him all mean. When she talks about him her voice gets different too. I pretend I dunno to make her happy." 

This put Spencer at a little bit of a loss for what to say. He wanted to tell him that he was sure this wasn't the truth but, something told him that treating this kid like he didn't know wouldn't help anything. 

"It's different when Mama tells me I'm smart though. She smiles like she does when she tells me about the knights. I think Mama loves the knights." Alec said before biting into a cracker. 

"She loves you too, it sounds like. You make her proud."

"Excuse me sir, it's almost nap time for the kids..." Amy said, hesitant to interrupt.

"I gotta go now but, would you mind if I came back and you told me about the knights?" Spencer asked. 

Alec nodded excitedly "Just make sure you come after nap time next time!" 

"I will," Spencer ruffled the boys hair affectionately 

"Thank you for coming, Dr. Reid." Amy held out her hand politely to thank him.

Spencer didn't move at all, staring at her hand for a moment. He prepared to launch into his usual explanation when someone beat him to it. 

"The number of pathogens passed in a handshake are...staggering. It's actually safer to kiss," Alec told Amy, seeming incredibly proud of himself despite his mispronunciation of the word pathogen and him having to take a couple seconds to remember the word 'staggering'. 

Spencer looked down at him. "That's a very interesting fact. Where did you learn it?" 

Alec smiled up at him. "The knight in Mama's story from the other day said it. Mama started laughing when she got to that part so I remembered it so I could make Mama laugh too!" 

"Well when I come see you again, I'd like to hear that story, if that's okay." Spencer said. 

With one last smile he left the pre-school and headed back to the station in order to report back to Hotch what he saw. There was a weird pull in the back of his brain. Something about the boy was incredibly familiar. If he had to guess, it was probably just him projecting his younger self onto the boy and nothing to think twice about. 

Now all he had to do was return and continue agonizing over this case until they found the son of a bitch that was doing this and either put him away for the rest of his life or put a bullet right between his eyes. Honestly, Spencer preferred the latter. Why should he get to live, even if it's in jail, while Y/N was dead? It wasn't right and Spencer was going to make sure that their unsub got what was coming to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the record, Alec does not know really what pathogens are. The most he really knows is that they are bad germs cause Y/N told him. It's just something he heard his mother say and is just really parroting it. 
> 
> If you are wondering how he pronounced it, he pronounces the 'g' like the g in game instead of like the g in germ. 
> 
> Also, I love Alec to death. 
> 
> Fun Fact: His middle name is Derek.


	3. Baby Fever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Penelope and Spencer chat, some flashbacks, and Rossi and Spencer are going to get closer than they realize.

"Alec told me that the man was older, likely in his mid 40's to early 50's. Probably about 5'6 to 5'9. He said he was fatter than me but, he didn't say that he was fat and with how honest children are, well I doubt he would have held back if he was. You can cut out anyone that has some kind of alibi from between 6:20 and 7:00 last night. Does this help narrow down your list Garcia?" Spencer asked. 

He had decided to call Penelope on his drive back to the police station to get the information to her as soon as possible. There was no time to waste on this case. If the unsub caught any wind of them narrowing in on him, he could pick up and get away again. 

Penelope could be heard typing on the other end. "Significantly, that little boy is a godsend," she said. 

Spencer chuckled softly. "Yeah he was a good kid. I kind of felt bad for him. I see a lot of myself in him. The teacher said that the other kids didn't really play with him and he seems pretty smart for his age. The kid straight out told me that his mom hates his dad."

"Yeesh. Poor little rugrat." 

"I know. Oh! Guess what he said while I was there." Spencer sounded incredibly excited, almost like a kid himself. 

Penelope pretended to think for a moment. "Uh that you have the most beautiful and the smartest tech analyst in the world?" 

"No, though it is highly likely that both of those things are true. So you know how I have my handshake thing?" He didn't wait for her confirmation, confident she would know what he is talking about. "Well the teacher went to shake my hand and he told her that the pathogens transferred in a handshake were staggering and that kissing was safer!"

Penelope groaned slightly. "Now I see why the poor kid doesn't have any friends. He is a mini you. Where does a kid that young even learn the word pathogens?"

Spencer smiled. "You see, I don't think he actually knows what the word means. It was still cute though."

"Aww does Dr. Reid have baby fever?" She teased 

"No way. Even if, I wanted to have a kid. With my job and how things are...I couldn't." 

A pout formed on Penelope's lips. "Imagine how cute a little genius boy would be...ooo or maybe a little genius girl!" 

"I think you are the one with 'baby fever' here, Garcia," Spencer told her. 

"That is a good possibility. I blame you for bringing up kids though!" Penelope took a couple seconds before her voice got a bit softer, more hesitant. "While I have you, how are you doing? I know that this who situation has got to be really hard for you."

Spencer cleared his throaty uncomfortably. "I'm...I'm not great. Focusing on this case again well it's been difficult. I'll be a lot better once this case is solved and I have some closure to this whole thing." 

"I think we all are going to be grateful for the closure of catching this guy. Then Y/N can finally rest in peace. When this is all done with, I was thinking of visiting her grave, telling her that it's over. I was wondering if you would come with me?" Penelope asked him. 

"Yeah, yeah I'd, uh, I would like that a lot," He said, "Hey Garcia?"

"Yeah?" 

"Thank you." 

Penelope smiled slightly. "No problem." 

The genius hung up after that so he could focus on driving while Penelope continued working on doing background checks for the people on her now shorter list. Thinking of Spencer with a kid brought back so many memories for her, especially from the last couple of days before they had left on the case all those years ago.

-

The three women had all gotten together at Penelope's to have some girl time, as per requested by Y/N. Plus they all had to catch up on the shows that they had missed during their last case. For now, JJ and Y/N were sitting on the couch as Penelope ordered them all some pizza. When she hung up the phone, the techie grabbed a bottle of wine from the fridge as well as a couple glasses, secured between her fingers, and headed over to them. 

"Pizza will be here in about twenty minutes. Wine?" Penelope asked.

JJ smiled. "Of course!" 

Y/N, on the other hand, shook her head. "I'm all set."

The two blondes looked at her incredulously. Usually Penelope asking was only a formality since part of their girl's nights had always been takeout and wine. Never had Y/N refused before. 

"Are you sick?"

"Did you and whiz kid fight? No...then you would just be more likely to drink...are you...?" Penelope made the gesture of a large bubble stomach. 

Y/N looked down at her stomach. "Well, I don't know anything for sure but, my period hasn't come and I've been having some pretty bad morning sickness..." she said calmly. 

"JJ!"

The other blonde was already half way to the door, purse in hand. "On it!" 

And that was how the three women ended up all standing in Penelope's bathroom with three positive pregnancy tests in front of them. A mixture of excitement and nerves present amongst the group. 

"I can't believe that there is gonna be a little baby Y/N and Spencer! Does he know? Oh my god he doesn't know! When are you going to tell him?" Penelope exclaimed. 

Y/N bit her lip. "I don't know. I don't want to just spring it on him. You two have to keep it a secret until I tell him. No one else can know. No one. Not even Morgan...especially not Morgan," she said, the last bit directed specifically at Penelope. 

"Of course. I won't say a word."

Penelope made a zipping motion over her lips. "Secrets safe locked within the P.G vault!" 

They all spent the rest of the night eating and talking about baby centered things until they migrated on to watching tv. 

-

Spencer was a mess. It was clear for anyone to see. Especially JJ since she was the one who's house he came to when he could no longer hold himself together anymore. Not that she could blame the man, the love of his life was dead and the man who killed her was still free. 

It was for this reason that JJ and Penelope vowed to one another that they could never tell Spencer that Y/N had been pregnant. It would utterly destroy him if he knew that he had not only lost his girlfriend but, also his baby. 

Though, it had been hard not to spill. To keep their grieving for not one but, two people between them. However, as they watched their team, they knew that what they were doing was for the best. As JJ held Spencer as he sobbed into her shoulder confessing how hard it was for him to not turn to dilaudid again to relieve him from the pain he was feeling, she knew that telling him would only send him spiraling deeper into his despair. As Morgan obsessed over the case and hid the case files from them of girl's bodies where the M.O was even remotely similar, consumed with the need to avenge his friend, it only validated the women's decision. Hotch had known they were keeping something from them when he had done their mandatory evaluations but, even he hadn't been able to pull it out of them, not for a lack of trying either. 

The two of them planned to take this secret to the grave with them, both out of loyalty to Y/N and for the sake of the people close to them. 

As the years went by, it seemed like they had made the right decision. Even though it was clear that they all still missed her, things were getting easier. While nothing would ever be the same without her, they were filling a bit of the hole that had been left.

Until the case came back up, ripping open the wound for all of them that knew her. They were going to put an end to it this time. So that they could all live the way that Y/N would have wanted. So that they could truly move on. 

-

Penelope sighed to herself. Hearing Spencer talk about this little boy just made her even more sure that he would have been an amazing father. The woman wiped away a stray tear, taking a deep breath and focusing on the work in front of her. 

As she kept replaying her conversation with Spencer over in her head, something struck her as weird. Something that she couldn't quite place for some reason. 

-

"Reid, did you learn anything of relevance?" Hotch asked when the younger male came in. 

Spencer nodded, taking off the bag he wore over his shoulder, and setting it down. "Actually, he was able to give us a lot of information. We now have a time for when the body was dropped as well as a vague description of the unsub. I already got the information to Garcia on my way over."

Hotch grunted in acknowledgment of his words, glad that he had sent Reid out to check out the lead. 

"Alexander Campbell was with his father when he saw the unsub so it's possible that the father could have seen something." 

"Alright. I'll send you and Rossi over to his house once Rossi gets back from speaking with the parents of the last victim." 

Spencer nodded and set to busying himself for the time being. "Are you going to let JJ give the profile to the media?" 

"I plan to hold off for now since I don't think that it will help us more than it will hurt us. He has evaded us before which means that he could try to do it again." Hotch told him. 

That was something Spencer was glad to hear since he agreed. 

Hotch looked up at him, he had been meaning to ask him how he was coping and figured there was no better time than now. "Are you doing okay?" 

"I will be doing a lot better when people stop asking me if I'm okay every five seconds," Spencer said with a tight smile. 

It was true. People asking him if he was okay allowed the emotional aspect of this case to take over from his logical, profiler side. 

"Sorry. If you do feel like talking about it, I'm here." 

"Thanks, Hotch." 

Hotch dropped the conversation after that, much to Spencer's relief. He knew that his team meant well but, it was only serving to further distract him and right now he needed to be focused. The two men worked in silence until Rossi arrived back. It was a comfortable silence since they were both so focused on building the profile. When Rossi finally made his appearance, Hotch barely glanced up at him. 

"Dave, Reid and you are going to talk to the father of the witness. See if he saw anything." 

Rossi nodded. "Alright kid, let's go." 

Spencer finished up writing one last thing before putting his pen down and grabbing his bag. As they were leaving the building, they got a message from Garcia with the address of the Campbell residence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope that you liked this chapter! Originally, this story was going to be a lot shorter and this chapter was going to be them discovering the unsub but, because of the warm reception, I'm making it a bit longer so you get flashbacks and shit! Yay!


	4. So Close, Yet Not Quite Close Enough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mere feet away, will Spencer and Rossi save Y/N?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Heavily implied rape. If that kind of thing bothers you and you want to know when to read till, comment and I will tell you until when is a safe line to read.

The house was incredibly ordinary looking, not the kind of the house someone would dream of but, it was far from bad looking. It was a grayish blue color with white trim around the windows. There were some children's toys outside on the lawn, which seemed slightly overgrown at this point. 

Spencer and Rossi got out of the car, walking up the stone path through the grass to the door. Rossi knocked on the door and instantly the sound of someone moving could be heard, accompanied by someone calling out to the two. 

"Coming! Coming!" 

There was the metal sound of the door being unlocked before it was opened. "Look, I ain't interested in buyin' nothin',"  
Jackson said once he opened the door. 

"Good thing we aren't planning on selling you anything," Rossi told the man.

Spencer glanced over the man, finding it hard to believe that he was the little boy he had met earlier's father. 'Must take after his mother,' Spencer thought. 

"You see Mr. Campbell, we are with the FBI's behavioral analysis unit. As you know, we spoke to your son earlier about a crime he witnessed and we wanted to speak to you about it to see if you happened to see anything. I'm Dr. Spencer Reid and this is Agent Rossi. May we come in?" 

The man eyed Spencer, his behavior changing almost as soon as he saw him, something that wasn't missed by either of the profilers. He stepped back and gestured for them to both come in before leading them towards what appeared to be the living room. 

Sitting on the couch with a book that seemed much too big for a boy of his age, was Alec who smiled widely upon seeing Spencer. "Dr. Reid!" He put the book down. "You brought a friend?" 

"Hey Alec. This is Agent Rossi. We are here to talk to your dad about what you saw." 

Alec nodded at Rossi. "Can I still tell you the story while you're here? Oh! Mama can tell you the story! She tells it a lot better than me," Alec exclaimed excitedly. 

Spencer sat down on the couch next to the boy. "Only if you help her tell it. Where is your mom?" Spencer asked him, glancing around but he didn't see any hint of her being home. In fact, their didn't seem to any feminine touches whatsoever in the home. 

"Mama is in the basement," Alec said as if it was completely normal. 

However, it earned a confused look shared between the two profilers. Well that was until Jackson stepped in to try and explain his son's words. "My wife does the laundry in the basement. That's where the washer and dryer are. I don't know if she'll be done in time to meet ya. Alexander, we are gonna have grown up talk. Go play in your room," he ordered gruffly. 

The little boy looked as if he wanted to argue but, a single look made him slip off the couch silently and began heading presumably towards his bedroom. Alec waved at Spencer, who waved back, before disappearing around a corner. 

"So whatcha want to ask?" Jackson asked, sitting in his chair. 

"Did you notice anything odd the other night at the park? Smells, people, sounds?" Rossi eyed the man as they waited for an answer. 

Jackson managed to remain mostly composed but, there was some part of him that just seemed off to Spencer. No doubt, Rossi had noticed it too. "No, I didn't. I wasn't paying attention," he told them. 

Rossi didn't quite buy it. "Can we try an exercise with you that may help you to remember?" 

"I'm not interested in any mind tricks of yours. It wouldn't help none anyway cause I didn't see or hear anythin'." 

Spencer stood up. "Alright. Sorry to have wasted your time, sir." A small smile crossed his lips as he headed back towards the door. As they did, he noticed a slightly open door with what appeared to be washing machine slightly visible. 

Jackson led them back to his front door, eager to have them leave. "Sorry I couldn't help you agents." 

Rossi whispered to Spencer as they walked back towards the car. "That guy is hiding something. You see that too, right?" 

"Oh definitely. I want to run it by the rest of the team before we let him know we think he is hiding something." Spencer told him making the older man smile slightly as he got into the driver side. 

-

"Garcia, I need you to run a name for me," Rossi said. 

"Hit me with the name!"

"Jackson Campbell."

"Got it. Jackson Matthew Campbell, age forty-nine, lives at 1527 Camposeo Drive. Works as a freelance carpenter. Has four year old son with a birthday in a little under a month named Alexander Derek Campbell. Looks like he was married and then divorced about seven years ago to a Clarissa Eris, now Thompson," Penelope started, her eyes flickering over all of the information on the screen in front of her. 

Rossi nodded. "What about his current wife? What's her name?" 

Penelope furrowed her eyebrows. "There is no record of him ever remarrying...Oh! Here's the kid's birth certificate...the mother is listed as...Vivien Leigh" "That name sounds familiar...Vivien Leigh is one of the lead characters from..." "Gone With The Wind," Rossi finished for him. 

Spencer and Rossi exchanged a look. They had been right in thinking that something was up with this guy. 

"Hey Garcia, can you tell me if he has any prior issues with the law?" Spencer asked her. 

A smile graced her lips. "For you, pretty boy, anything...looks like he has been picked up multiple times for assault. All seem to be basic bar fights though. There are a couple police reports for domestic calls. Him and his ex-wifey worrying the neighbors with all of their arguing, no wonder they divorced." She mused to herself. "Uh, guys..."

There was a beat of silence as they waited for Penelope to finish her sentence. 

"All of these were in Mesquite, Texas. Jackson Campbell was born and raised there. He only moved to Connecticut about five years ago, right-" 

"-right when the trail went cold on The Bloody Angel," Spencer finished for her. 

That was him. He had just been face to face with the man who killed his Y/N. The time had come when they were finally going to take this guy down. 

"Well, I guess it's time to get the others and take down this son of a bitch," Rossi said. 

-

Y/N could hear the footsteps coming down the stairs, as usual. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips, wincing ever so slightly at the sting that came from her split lip. At least it wasn't bleeding any longer. 

"Hey sweetie," Jackson cooed as he stepped into the room, his voice incredibly peppy. "Does your lip still hurt? Sorry but, ya got a bit too mouthy and I had to put ya in your place. You understand don'tcha?" 

She looked up at him. "If I was gonna complain about a split lip then I wouldn't have survived here so long." 

This earned a laugh from him. 

"What's got you so happy?" 

"Just thinking about how you always used to go on about that cute little team of yours coming to save ya" Jackson mused. 

The only only reaction this got from her was a raised eyebrow. She wasn't exactly sure where he was going with this. 

Jackson beamed at her. "Two members of your little team were just right upstairs. Mere feet away and they didn't realize a thing. If they didn't save you then, sweetie, then they are never going to. You are gonna be stuck with me until the day you die." 

A sense of hopelessness coursed through her. They were right there. So close. If she had screamed they probably would have heard her. Then she would have been saved. 

"That's the face I like to see. You know, there are few times you've ever looked more beautiful than now," he told her. 

"Who?" 

Jackson smirked. "There was an Agent Rossi and some other guy. What was his name? Oh yeah! Dr. Spencer Reid! If I remember correctly, isn't Spencer the name you used to scream for to come save ya? He's Alec's dad right?" He asked as if he didn't already know that the answer was yes. "Alec likes him a lot, y'know. Too bad he'll never get to know that's his boy. Y'know, it's been a while since you talked 'bout him. Did you forget all about him after I showed you what it was like to be handled by a real man? I'm surprised a guy like that could even get you pregnant."

Y/N grit her teeth, fighting back both anger and tears. "I want to be alone..."

"That's a shame, sweetie, cause I was actually thinking that's it's been far too long till we spent time together. You can think that doctor of yours for showing up and reminding me about all the fun we used to have," Jackson said as he stalked forward, starting to unbuckle his belt as he neared Y/N. 

Y/N took in a shaky breath. This was far from the first time something like this would happen and there was doubt that it wouldn't be the last time it had happened either. 

"Please don't. Alec is upstairs." 

Jackson was practically on top of her at this point, to the point that Y/N's hands were pressing back against his chest to try and put just a little bit more distance between the two of them. He didn't stop at her worst, just leaned down so she could feel his breath on her ear. 

"Then you better be quiet."

There was no more that she could fight it. If she hurt him, he would take it out on Alec or keep him from her which she couldn't allow. Besides, she knew how to handle this at this point. Y/N just had to close her eyes and force herself to mentally leave her body until he was done. Then she could see Alec and everything would be alright. As long as she had her son, she could make it through anything. Even if they never managed to save her. Though, in that moment, she wished that they would. That anybody would swoop in and save her.


	5. The Knights of the BAU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to dedicate this chapter to newtafidoscamander! 
> 
> They have been so positive and sweet to me and encouraging about this fic. People like them are the reason why I love to write so much ^^

Penelope almost immediately dialed a different number once she got off of the phone with Spencer and Rossi. She called JJ who picked up, thankfully. 

"Hey, you calling to tell me that Rossi and Reid think they know who the unsub is?" JJ asked.

"No, but it's good you know. Please tell me you are somewhere private so we can talk about things that no shouldn't grace certain people's ears."

Penelope could hear the sound of JJ's shoes against the floor, followed by the click of a door closing. "I am now. Why?"

"Okay so before I say this, know that it is just a thought that crossed my mind that I needed to get out and I didn't have anyone else who I could talk to but you."

JJ's eyes narrowed slightly as she tried to figure out what the other woman was going to say. "You're kind of scaring me here."

Penelope bit her lip. "Sorry, sorry! It's just...this guy he has a son...a son who is four years old and who's middle name is Derek..." 

"Penelope, are you suggesting what I think you are?" 

"I am. Is it really coincidence that the guy who might have taken Y/N's middle name happens to be the same thing that Y/N was considering for her baby's middle name if it was a boy?" 

JJ sighed, "I mean, it is pretty strange but, it doesn't mean anything for certain." 

The more Penelope thought about it, the more that it made sense. They both knew how sure she felt about making the middle name Derek if it was a boy.

-

"Have you considered names yet?" Penelope asked. 

JJ laughed at the other woman's excitement. "She just barely found out she is pregnant. She hasn't even told Spencer so I doubt she already has a name picked out," she said, her voice laced with amusement. 

Y/N smiled. "Well, I haven't thought much about first names yet. I've been thinking a lot about the baby's middle name though. I still have to talk to Spencer about it of course but, I think I want to ask Hotch to be the Godfather. Which means, if it's a boy I want to make his middle name Derek. Would that be weird?" She asked, a bit sheepishly. 

Luckily, it got an 'aww' from the other two, making her feel relieved. 

"You're gonna make both of them cry if you tell them that," JJ joked with a smile, thinking about the two macho men tearing up from happiness. 

"Who were you thinking for Godmother?" Penelope asked, wiggling her eyebrows. 

Y/N laughed softly. "Sorry, Pen but, I won't reveal that to you two. You'll just have to wait and find out." 

-

"If you didn't already think it was weird, Reid and Rossi said that both our potential unsub and the little kid mentioned a woman who lives with them but, there are no records of one. The name listed on the birth certificate of the boy is Vivien Leigh," Penelope told her.

JJ was a confused noise in her throat. "Isn't that the name of-" 

"Yep. Look, JJ, I'm not asking you to tell the entire team that you think this kid is Spencer's and that there is a chance that Y/N is alive just...when you guys go and take down the guy...keep an eye out. If you notice anything just check it out...just in case," Penelope practically pleaded with her. 

It took a couple of seconds for JJ to relent with a long sigh. "Fine. Just please don't get your hopes up. Even if Spencer is this little boy's father, it doesn't mean that Y/N will be alive." 

Penelope grinned brightly. "Hopes are nice and down, thanks JJ!" 

Before JJ could change her mind, Penelope hung up the call. JJ wanted to hope the same things as Penelope, she just knew she couldn't take the heartbreak or the disappointment if Penelope was wrong. The blonde slipped her phone back into her pocket when she noticed Hotch wave her over through the window of the room that she had secured herself in to keep the others from hearing. 

JJ went into the conference room they had been provided to conduct their investigation. The others were all there, itching to go. 

"Alright, we need to handle this situation carefully. We don't know if he knows that we suspect him so we can't be sure if he is prepared for either a hostage situation or a shootout. Speaking of hostages, there is a young boy and potentially a woman who will be in the house. We have to get them out safely no matter what," Hotch told them to which they all nodded in understanding. "Reid, this kid knows you so he is more likely to trust you than anyone else here. If you can try to get him out as fast as possible. Morgan, Rossi, you'll be going with me through the front. Prentiss, Reid, and JJ you are going to go through the back. Six police car along with two ambulances will be waiting a couple streets over for my signal. Gear up, we'll be leaving here in five minutes." 

There were a chorus of 'yes, sirs'. The team then set out to getting ready to leave, basically just making sure they had their FBI Kevlar vests in case the situation got a little hairy as well as their guns were loaded. The team split into two cars with three to each vehicle as they headed to the home of Jackson Campbell. 

The air in both vehicles was filled with a tension. They all knew how important this mission was. In a sense, this was a revenge mission. While it was never said out loud, everyone knew that if the opportunity arose where it would be acceptable to take him out that they were all to take the shot. When they all had arrived in front of the house, filing out of the cars and sharing the same look. That this was it. 

Hotch nodded and Spencer, JJ, and Emily took off towards the back of the house, careful to keep their footsteps quiet. Emily led the way to the back door where they were to wait for the time being. However, the metal doors to a basement had caught JJ's eye causing Penelope's words to run through her mind.

"You two go ahead. I'm gonna check out the basement, see if there is anything down there," she whispered. 

The two others looked over at the blonde, contemplating the risk before nodding.  
"Do you want me to come with you?" Spencer asked in a hushed voice. 

JJ shook her head. "You have to go in incase the kid is in there."

"Right. Stay safe."

With that, JJ headed over to the metal doors slowly with a heart full of skeptical optimism.

-

"-so the two knights went to the castle, not knowing that their companion was locked away in the dungeons beneath their feet-" 

"Wouldn't they be able to tell because of the dragon who took her?" Alec asked with a furrowed brow. 

Y/N smiled tightly. "You see, the dragon was able to shape shift into a normal looking man. This man tricked the knights into thinking that Lady Y/N wasn't there so they left." 

Alec shook his head fiercely. "No way! There is no way that Sir Spencer could be fooled by the dragon. If they left it's because he knew he couldn't face the dragon without the rest of the knights," he insisted. 

"You really have that much faith in Sir Spencer?" She asked softly, her voice shaking slightly. 

"Of course. Sir Spencer wouldn't let himself be tricked when Lady Y/N is in trouble." Alec declared with the utmost certainty. "Oh Mama! I met a man with the same name as Sir Spencer today! He came to my preschool and the house. Next time he comes over you have to meet him." Alec seemed ecstatic at the prospect of his mom meeting his new friend. 

"I can't wait." Y/N gently brushed his hair behind his ear, freezing when he gently grabbed her arm. 

Alec was staring at the dark bruises that covered Y/N's wrists. "What happened Mama?" 

The breath had caught in her throat but, she forced herself to keep acting normal as to not upset her son. 

"I was clumsy and fell down today." The lie came easily to her. She lied a lot like this when Alec was younger. 

Alec nodded hesitantly, not letting go of her arm until after he brought the darkened skin to his lips, kissing it lightly. "You have to kiss it to make it get better faster," he told her. 

Without thinking, Y/N pulled him in for a tight hug and kissed him on the top of his head. "Baby, you haven't believed that for a while now," she said with a smile. She could still remember the the time when she had gone to kiss one of his "booboos" only to have her son tell her that she couldn't actually heal him. At first it had left her speechless until she told him that maybe she just liked kissing him. 

"It made you smile though," Alec said as he laid his head on her chest. 

Y/N began stroking her fingers through his hair gently when the sudden sound of footsteps down the stairs caught her attention followed by the sound of the key turning in the lock. Paranoia filled Y/N. Why was he coming down here so soon? He normally didn't bring her food for another hour and if he was going to bring Alec up it wouldn't be until much later in the day. Y/N held her son protectively to her chest.

However, the person who came from through the door wasn't Jackson. They weren't even male. No, it was a blonde woman holding a gun with a vest that had "FBI" in white letters. A wave of emotions overtook Y/N. They were saved. Finally everything was going to be okay. It wasn't until the woman spoke that she recognized her though. 

"Y-Y/N?" She asked softy, blinking hard a couple times to make sure that the woman sitting on the bed wasn't an illusion. 

Quickly, Y/N wiped away the tears on her cheeks. "JJ? Oh god please tell me that this is real." 

JJ slowly approached Y/N, putting her gun back in its holster. "It's real I promise. We are going to get you out of here okay."

"Mama, what's happening?" Alec asked softly. 

Y/N smiled down at him. "You were right, baby. Sir Spencer went and got the rest of the knights to save Lady Y/N and the little prince," She told him. 

It was the easiest thing to tell him at the time. While her son was smart and realized probably far more than he should, this wasn't the kind of thing that could be easily explained. It would probably need a lengthy conversation and a lot of thought about how to have that conversation. Right now, Y/N was beyond eager to get them both out of there as quickly as possible. 

"Can you walk?" JJ asked Y/N, to which the other woman answered with a nod. "Here let me take him." At the hesitant look she received she told her, "just until we get up the stairs. I don't want you to fall and hurt you both."

She looked down at Alec. "Alec, you are gonna go with her okay. I'll be right with you," she told him softly. 

Alec let go of his mother and slid off of her lap obediently. He did, however, refuse when JJ went to carry him. 

"If you are carrying me then you can't catch Mama if she falls."

JJ couldn't help but smile. She offered her friend her hand, which Y/N gratefully took. While she had been walking around, it had been a long time since she did anything as strenuous as walking up stairs, especially ones as steep as those that led upstairs. Thankfully, JJ used the hand that wasn't tightly gripping her own to support Y/N by placing it on her back. Now that they were above ground, the sirens could be heard loudly from the front of the house. 

Once they were on flat ground, Y/N broke away from her friend, claiming that she could walk perfectly fine on her own. JJ eyed her worriedly, not sure the exact condition that she was in. Alec smiled up at the blonde sweetly. 

"Don't worry, I'll help Mama walk," he said, reaching up and taking Y/N's hand and leading her towards the front of the house. 

JJ sped up her pace to walk in front of them. A deep voice came calling out to her as soon as she rounded the side of the house, the police cars and ambulances in plain view. 

"Hey JJ, we were just about to go looking for you. Hotch is pissed that you went off on your own, you should be more-" Morgan started, though his seemingly good mood assured JJ that they had caught the bastard, abruptly stopping when the second woman turned the corner a couple seconds after JJ. 

"Y/N..."


	6. A Tall Drink Of Water, Tech Goddess, And Stone Faced Man Walk Into A Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Y/N reunites with the members of her team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't think of a title so I made it like the set up to those "walk into a bar" jokes XD I tried

Morgan stared at the woman in front of him, his dark eyes wide. He approached her slowly before wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. Y/N gently squeezed her son's hand in a show of affection before slipping her hand from his and throwing her arms around her dead friend. It took every ounce of composure she had to not break out into sobs of relief. 

"Long time no see, beautiful." He said, pressing his lips to the top of her head. 

"Come on, Morgan. We can all have our reunion later. Right now, Y/N needs to get to a hospital. After what she's been through I want her to get a thorough checkup. Actually, can you take her? I have to get this young man to a different ambulance and talk to Hotch," JJ requested, partially because that was actually what she needed to do and partially because she trusted Morgan to keep an eye on her on the ride to the hospital. 

Morgan nodded, pulling back but keeping an arm wrapped protectively around Y/N's waist. Y/N hated that her son was going to be separated from her but, she knew that JJ wouldn't let anything bad happen to him. So she allowed herself to be led away without any complaint, only a soft 'Be good for Agent Jareau' to Alec who nodded and moved closer to the blonde.

They made their way to the closest ambulance unimpeded for the most part. Just as she remembered, Morgan radiated an aura that commanded respect and naturally made people move aside for him. Even after years of working with him, she had never quite gotten used to it. It seemed that it had only gotten stronger after all of these years. Once they got to the ambulance, Morgan said a few words to the two EMTs before they helped her into the vehicle and the four of them were on their way to the hospital. 

-

"So that boy back there was yours?" Morgan asked as he sat in the chair beside Y/N's hospital bed. 

Once the doctor had finished her checkup determining that the worst of her new injuries were a sprained wrist and that she was slightly malnourished and that after they got some nutrients into her that she would be fine, they had set her up in a bed to rest a bit. At first, they wanted to kick Morgan out so he wouldn't bother her but, Y/N insisted upon him staying. 

Y/N nodded slightly in response to his question. 

"He's a cute kid...I hate to ask but...is he Campbells?" Morgan asked with serious eyes. 

The response he got from Y/N was immediate. "No. I was pregnant before we even left for the case," she assured him. 

He sighed in relief, glad that at least the bastard hadn't gotten her pregnant. "So he's Spencer's?" 

"Mhm. Trust me, if you talk to him you'll be able to tell." A chuckle left her lips. 

Morgan smiled at her. "What's his name anyway?" 

Y/N bit her lip slightly, it was a bit embarrassing to tell someone that you had partially named your child after them. "Alexander Derek-" there was a moment of hesitation "-Y/L/N" 

The shock that Morgan felt was evident on his features. "Well I'll have to turn him into a charmer, can't have any kid named after me not be a hit with the ladies or guys," he told her after recovering from the initial surprise. "Spencer never mentioned that you had been pregnant, does that mean...?"

"He doesn't know. I never got a chance to tell him. The only people who knew was Penelope and JJ and I had them sworn to silence." 

There was a clear clash of emotions in Morgan. On one hand, he was upset that they had never told them that Y/N had been pregnant but, at the same time, he knew that it was probably best that they hadn't told anyone. It would have only made things worse. 

"Speaking of my baby girl, I should probably call her and tell her that you are okay. You get some rest, okay? You'll wanna look your best for when you see lover boy again," he teased with a large smile. 

Y/N smiled back at him as he left the room, leaving her alone with her thoughts. She couldn't lie, she was nervous to see Spencer again. It had been so long and she was so different now. While she knew that her fears were silly, she couldn't help but worry that he would think of her as broken after everything that had happened to her. That and she didn't want to dump everything with Alec onto him. Going from being childless one day to suddenly learning you had a four year old son would surely be a lot. Though, from what it sounded like, Alec and Spencer got along. At the very least, Alec liked Spencer. 

Maybe things would be fine and all her worries would be unfounded. She could only hope. 

-

Spencer couldn't help but feel panicked when he hadn't found Alec in the house. His heart started racing and there was a sense of dread in the pit of his stomach. The feeling was alleviated when he stepped out of the house and saw him with Emily and the EMT. He practically ran over. 

"Hey, where did you find him?" He asked the dark haired woman. 

"I didn't. JJ did, she left him with me so that she could talk to Hotch. He isn't too happy that she went off on her own but, she found the mother and this little guy so I doubt he'll be too mad at her." Emily smiled at Alec. "Speak of the devils," she added as Hotch and JJ came over. 

Hotch looked at Spencer, gauging his general emotional state. It was clear he still didn't know. "Spencer, you ride with Alexander to the hospital. We'll meet you there." Hotch instructed. 

He figured this would give them time the brief Rossi and Emily on the situation at hand and on who exactly Y/N was. Of course the two had heard the name before, after all the others went to her grave on her birthday every year, but, they didn't really know how much of a significant part of their lives she had been. Considering that she was about to re-enter their lives. 

-

"Hey baby girl," Morgan greeted pleasantly. 

Penelope smiled. "I must have generated some good karma to get a call from you. Whatcha need my tall drink of water?" Despite her nerves, she did her best to seem casual. It didn't sound like anything was terribly wrong, at the least. 

"For once, I have some information for you. You're sitting down, right?" Once she confirmed he continued on. "We found her." 

"By her you mean..." she trailed off, her voice filled with wonder. "My god...is she okay? Did he hurt her? Can I talk to her?" 

Morgan chuckled slightly. "She is as okay as she can be right now, he did hurt her, and if she is up for it then you can talk to her." 

Penelope scoffed at the 'if she is up for it' part. Of course her strong best friend was up for it. 

Morgan walked back in to the room where Y/N was laying in the bed, it seemed like she was reading one of the many posters that littered the walls. When the door opened, her eyes slowly trailed over and she smiled up at him. 

"I have a certain tech goddess who wishes to speak with you," he told her. 

Y/N held out her hand. "Who am I to deny a call from a goddess?" She asked rhetorically, taking the phone and pressing it up against her ear. "I feel honored, the all-knowing Penelope Garcia has chosen to bless me with a call." 

"I can't believe it, you're really okay. I never wanted to believe you were really gone but the picture and it had been so long and...I'm just so glad you are okay," Penelope finished, her voice shaking with emotion.

"You guys can't get rid of me that easy."

"Would it be crazy of me to buy a plane ticket to come see you?" 

"Hmm I wouldn't say crazy but, definitely unnecessary. I'll be back sooner than you know and then you'll be wishing my hospital stay was longer," Y/N told her.

It was clear that Penelope was debating with herself over whether or not she wanted to push the issue further. After a couple moments, she relented with a sigh. "Fine. But, when you get back I'm hugging you for at least an entire year."

Y/N laughed. "Deal." 

"Have you seen Spencer yet?" Penelope asked.

"No. The only people I've talked to is you, Morgan, and JJ. I didn't even get to see him before Morgan whisked me away. I think he wanted to keep me all to himself," she joked, winking at the man in the room. 

Penelope smiled. "You better not steal my man," she warned playfully. 

"Wouldn't dream of it." A knock on the door caught Y/N and Morgan's attention. "Hey, I think the doctor is back so I gotta go. I love you Penelope. I'll see you soon."

Y/N placed the phone next to the bed while Morgan went and opened the door. To her surprise, the doctor wasn't standing there but, instead there stood a very serious looking special agent. He walked in and stared at Y/N for a couple seconds, taking the whole situation in while he had the moment to, his body slowly relaxing. 

"Welcome back Y/N."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God I like torturing your guys by making you wait for Spencer and Y/N to reunite mwahaha


	7. A Sudden Revelation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec tells Spencer a story only for Spencer to ask the wrong question...or was it the right one?

Morgan left at the request of Hotch to go talk to Spencer along with JJ and kind of try to prepare him for what was to come. He found the tall genius sitting and talking with a little boy. Knowing now that that was Spencer's kid, he could see the similarities. While he had Y/N's hair color, the eyes were all Spencer's, same with the lips. Even their expressions were eerily similar. 

Currently the little kid, Alexander, was telling Spencer about some kind of story. Spencer was listening, nodding, it appeared that he was genuinely intrigued by what he was saying. 

"So what are the limits of this oracle's orb? Can she see anything through it?" Spencer asked Alec. 

Alec nodded. "Mostly. She needs to know about what she is trying to see though." 

"Then why couldn't they use it to tell them exactly where Sir Spencer was?" 

"The three headed monster was using his powers to show them what he wanted them to see but she didn't know where he was so she couldn't use it," Alec explained to him. 

Spencer hummed softly in understanding. "Okay, okay. So how do they find Sir Spencer?" 

Alec smiled broadly at him. "Sir Spencer knew that the monster was showing the other knights what he was doing to him so he gave clues while he was talking to the monster. He managed to tell them that where he was there was a lot of golden horned sheep that were p-p...po..." his eyebrows furrowed in annoyance as he searched for the right word. 

"Poached?" Spencer offered.

"Yeah! Poached! Lots of the golden horned sheep were poached there and he told them that he was in a graveyard by quoting some magic book with a weird name. Because they knew that, the oracle was able to use her magic orb and find him!" 

Spencer smiled. "I wish I could get my hands on one of those orbs. It would certainly make finding the bad guys easier," he mused. 

Morgan chuckled to himself as he watched them from the doorway. It seemed that Y/N must have told her son plenty of stories about them while she was gone. Though, he was pretty surprised that Spencer didn't put together that this was a story about the Hankel case. JJ walked up behind him, watching the two as she spoke to Morgan. 

"It's scary how much he is like them, isn't it?" she asked, careful to keep her voice quiet. "How do you think he is going to handle the news?" 

Morgan glanced down at the blonde next to him. "Which part? That Y/N is alive or that he has a son?" 

"Both." 

"No idea. I'm not even sure how to begin to tell him. How do you tell someone something like this?" Morgan shook his head slightly as he turned his head to completely look at her. 

JJ responded with a tight smile. "It might be best to just rip off the bandage." 

"So what are the names of the other knights anyway? All I know is Sir Spencer." 

The two special agents quickly looked over, both highly suspicious of what names were going to come out of Alec's mouth. Morgan went to speak out and interrupt the conversation but, it was too late by the time he had begun to speak

Alec put up a finger for each name that he rattled off, unaware of the slowly paling face of the man next to him. "There's Sir Morgan, Sir Gideon, Sir Aaron, Lady JJ, Lady Elle, and Lady Y/N!" 

Spencer's brain began running at a mile a minute. The knights from the stories Alec mother told him shared a name with the members of the team and he was absolutely certain what answer he would get if he asked for the name of the oracle. 

"Hey kid, how about you come with me and we get some food. I think I heard they had some Jell-o in the cafeteria," Morgan said to Alec who nodded excitedly practically jumping off the bed to go with Morgan. He waved slightly at Spencer as he left. JJ and Morgan shared a look as the man followed Alec out of the room. 

JJ walked over and took Alec's spot beside Spencer. "Spence..."

His fingers were running through his hair. "How long have you known?" He asked. 

"I found her at the house. I've known since then." 

Spencer nodded. "Can I see her?" He asked, his eyes desperate when he looked at her.

JJ bit her lip. "Yes but, before you do, you should know...Alec is yours." 

-

"Do you know where you will be staying?" Hotch asked. 

Y/N shook her head in response. "No, I'll probably call my mom and see if we can stay there until I get back on my feet. Do you think they'll let me back into the FBI?" She asked, mostly joking cause she doubted it. 

Hotch considered it for a second. "Well, with some training and after a psych evaluation as well as at least a couple mandatory therapy sessions, I think I could try to pull some strings," he told her. "No promises but I'll see what I can do." 

"Thank you so much, Hotch. Really, it means the world to me." It was true. The Behavioral Analysis Unit had been Y/N's dream job and she couldn't imagine working anywhere else at this point. 

"In return, I have something to request of you." Hotch looked at Y/N with a serious expression. It made her a bit nervous, honestly. "I want you to stay with me until you and Alexander can find a place of your own to stay." 

Her eyes went wide. "Hotch, I couldn't ask that of you. Besides, what would Haley say?" 

Hotch swallowed hard. "Haley passed away a while ago," he told her, waving off the apology that instantly bubbled out of her mouth. "This would be a favor to me more than anything. While you are trying to get everything back to normal, I'd just ask that sometimes you watch Jack when no one else can. There is a guest room that you two could stay in and it'll be all your own. Besides, I think it would be good for Alexander to get to know his father and I don't think he can do that from Florida," he added. 

"So JJ told you?" Y/N breathed out. 

To her surprise, Hotch shook his head. "She didn't have to. I had guessed you were pregnant, you didn't hide it well. When I saw your son I put two and two together," Hotch told Y/N. "So what do you say? Give it a shot?" 

"Thank you, Hotch. If you ever need anything in return just ask. I owe you so much." 

A rare smile edged on his lips as he looked at her. "So Alexander Derek? Should I be offended?" He asked her with a quirked eyebrow.

Y/N rapidly shook her head. "No no no! I named him that cause I had intended to ask you if you would be his godfather. I just never got the chance because...well, y'know...I just couldn't leave Morgan completely out or it would damage his ego." 

Hotch chuckled softly. "Well now I have even more of a reason for you to stay with me. I need to get to know my godson." 

There was a soft jingling noise from Hotch's pocket that broke up the sentimental moment. He took out his cellphone and read the text message that had popped up. 

"Spencer incoming."

Almost on cue the door opened, causing Y/N's heart to immediately begin racing, her voice caught in her throat unable to say anything as she laid eyes on the love of her life. 

Spencer Reid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *SCREAMS* OH MY GOD ITS HAPPENING! THIS IS NOT A DRILL ITS HAPPENING!!
> 
> This chapter is short but the next one is much longer, I promise...at least I think it is...


	8. Slow Is Good

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The moment you've all been waiting for.

Seeing him spurred a mixture of emotions within Y/N. Her eyes raked over every inch of him, soaking him in. His hair was much shorter than it had been. While she couldn't tell for sure from so far away, he seemed a bit more toned as well. So much was different with him that it spiked her anxiety. What if he was different? However, as her eyes trailed down to her feet she relaxed. A pair of converse and mismatched socks, typical Spencer. 

Spencer was in just as much awe. It was almost like seeing a ghost for him. She had changed significantly less than he had. Her hair was longer, for one. It also seemed like she was thinner than before having lost muscle where he had gained it. There was an air of tiredness that surrounded her, like she had lived through more than her share. The wounds he could see on her filled him with a rage that tempted him to go right down to the police station and make Jackson Campbell beg for mercy. Even so, Y/N was still every bit as beautiful as she had been the day he lost her. 

"Spencer..."

"Y/N..." 

They both spoke at the same time, their voices equally breathless and filled with a mix of disbelief and amazement that the other was before them. 

Spencer moved forward like a man possessed, each step bringing him closer to her. Not that he was sure what he was going to do when he got to her. He didn't know if he was going to hold her, kiss her, both. All Spencer knew was that he had to be close to her immediately. It seemed that she had some kind of better idea than him because as soon as he was close enough she sat up so that she was kneeling on the hospital bed, only wincing slightly when she accidentally ripped the IV out of her arm, and threw her arms around his neck. He had no complaints, happy to hold her as close as she wanted.

The world around them seemed to vanish, making it impossible to tell exactly how long they stayed like that. Spencer only pulled back when he felt warm tears seeping through his shirt. He moved back just enough so that he could see her face. 

Y/N's slowly slipped her hands from behind his neck to the wet spot she had created, brushing it against of it before quickly rushing to wipe away the tears she realized had been streaming down her face. 

"I'm sorry," she mumbled softly as she roughly wiped at them.

Spencer shook his head slightly. "Don't worry about it." His words were soft, comforting. So unlike what she had grown accustomed to hearing. 

His hand came up to gently cup her face and wipe at some of the tears that freely fell. "There are no words to explain how badly I missed you...well technically there are lots of words that could be used to explain how I was feeling, saudade, viraag, bereaved-" he began rambling on. 

A smile slowly appeared on Y/N's lips as laughter slipped out of her mouth, though the did her best to hold it back. Spencer looked down at her, immediately realizing that he had started rambling again. He had been about to apologize when the sudden feeling of lips again his prevented him from doing so. It only lasted a few moments as the pain of Y/N's split lip forced to her to pull back. 

"I'd say that I had almost forgotten how much I loved you but, I never forgot for a second." How could she when she had a constant reminder of him that she loved equally as much? 

Instead of his lips against hers, this time they were pressed against the top of her head. "I love you too. So much." 

The two of them separated, noticing that at some point Hotch had left to give them some privacy for which they were both extremely grateful. Spencer glanced down at the spot on her arm where the IV had previously been attached. 

"Should I call the nurse in to reinsert that?" He asked. 

Y/N followed his gaze to her arm. "No, it's fine. I'm sure I can do it myself," she insisted, grabbing the part that had been pulled out. 

Spencer wore an uncertain expression as he watched her try to recall the way that the nurse had done it first. "How about you at least let me try to do it?" 

"Spence I'm sure I can handle it, it doesn't seem that difficult." 

"Tell that to the people that spent four years in medical school...yeah, no, I'm calling a nurse," Spencer said, pressing the button to buzz for a nurse. 

Y/N pouted slightly, but sat back in the bed so that the nurse wouldn't scold her for moving around so much. It didn't take long at all for the nurse to arrive, eyeing the couple curiously. "I accidentally pulled out my IV could you help me?" She asked sheepishly. 

The nurse nodded and set to work doing so with a pleasant "of course." 

"Thank you. Spencer here wanted to try to reinsert it himself but, I told him we should leave it to the professionals." 

Spencer looked completely appalled at the mere idea that he would suggest something. "What? No way! You were the one that was so sure you could do it yourself!" He set out to defend himself, stopping at the sharp look the nurse sent him. A look that made Y/N have to use all of her self control not to burst into laughter. 

As the nurse went to leave the room, Y/N spoke up again. "Excuse me, may I ask how an Alexander Campbell is doing? He should have arrived here not long after myself?" she asked. 

"I think I saw him in the cafeteria with the man who rode in with you, on his third cup of jell-o, I believe," the nurse told her, seemingly amused. 

Y/N nodded, thanking the nurse as they left the room. When Y/N looked back to Spencer, excited to tease him a little more, she noticed that a more serious look had appeared on his face.

Spencer cleared his throat, wringing his hands. "About Alec..." he started, not exactly sure what to say about the situation. 

"He's yours, if you were wondering. I found out I was pregnant a couple days before we left on the case...I just never found the right moment to tell you..." she told him, worried that he was mad about it. 

He nodded in response, glad to hear that coming from her. "You raised him well for the situation you guys were in." It was the truth. Alec seemed to be turning out great. 

Y/N smiled a little bit. "He reminds me of you more and more as he gets older. Too smart for his own good." 

"Yeah, I've noticed. He reminded me a bit of myself when I first met him too, I guess I know why now." 

There was a bit of an awkward air. Neither one of them were sure exactly what to say. Y/N looked down at her lap, composing her thoughts. 

"Spence, we don't have to tell him you are his dad if it makes you uncomfortable. I don't want me or Alec to be something that holds you back from your life. I don't expect things to just pick right up from where we left off either," she told him. 

"No," Spencer instantly blurted out. "What I mean is, I want to be apart of his life. If you'll allow me to be, that is. I'd love to be Alec's dad in more than just genetics. I just...I don't want him to be confused." 

A huge weight lifted off of Y/N's shoulders. "We'll just have to ease him into it. He is a smart boy so as long as we explain it right, he'll understand," she told him. 

Spencer nodded, staying silent for a second, licking his lips nervously. "I want to continue being in your life as more than just Alec's father too." Spencer said, watching her face for her reaction. 

Y/N reached out and took his hand. "I want that too...I'm just going to need for us to take it slow. For Alec and for me." 

Spencer nodded. "Slow is good, I can do slow. We'll take this at your pace." His thumb gently traced circles on the back of her hand. 

-

Morgan carried the boy back from the cafeteria. 

"I think I'm Jell-o drunk," the boy mumbled as he leaned his head onto his shoulder. 

This made Morgan chuckle softly. "Can't wait till you turn twenty one then."

"Why?"

"Don't worry about it, kid. Are you ready to see your mom?" He asked. 

His response was an enthusiastic nod. 

Morgan stopped outside of the room where Y/N was staying. "Now remember, you can't tell your mom about all the jell-o or she'll have my butt mounted on the wall."

"Secrets safe with me!" He assured him. 

With that, Morgan opened the door with his free hand. "Special delivery for Y/F/N." He walked into the room, seeing that he had caught Spencer and Y/N in an emotionally intimate moment. Their eyes shot to him before their hands quickly moved away from one another's. 

"Mama! Dr. Reid!" Alec exclaimed, perking up at the sight of them and squirming against Morgan until the man relented and gently placed him on the edge of the hospital bed, knowing he wouldn't be able to climb onto it himself. 

Y/N's face lit up as the young boy navigated the bed until he was by her side. "Hey baby. Did you have fun with Agent Morgan?" 

Alec nodded. "Yeah, Uncle Derek and I had a super well balanced meal together," he told her in a way that he clearly thought was very convincing. However, even if she hadn't already known he was lying, the 'hidden' thumbs up to Morgan was a dead giveaway.

"Oh really?" Y/N said, her and Spencer shared an amused look. "Does 'Uncle Derek' think that a well balanced meal consists of jell-o?" 

"Jell-o? I don't know what you are talking about Mama. We didn't have any jell-o." Alec insisted. 

"Show me your hands." 

Alec instantly shook his head, hiding his hands behind his back with wide eyes. 

Spencer and Derek shared a look, neither one certain why the boy didn't want her to see his hands. 

"Alexander..." 

With a look of shame, Alec held out his hands palm up to his mother who tutted. "Just like I thought, bright red. You shouldn't lie to me, Alec. Though, I'll write it off this time as Uncle Derek's bad influence. Just don't do it again," she said to which Alec nodded, eager to be forgiven. 

Morgan chuckled. "I never thought you would be such a mom." 

"Oh hush, 'Uncle Derek' before I put you in time out," she joked with a playfully dirty look. "And stop turning my son into a trouble maker!" 

The now smirking male held his hands up in surrender. "Fine fine, as long as Spencer doesn't turn him into a complete nerd. I gotta make this kid a ladykiller in a couple years," Morgan told them. 

"There is nothing wrong with being a nerd," Spencer defended himself, a small pout on his lips. "And I can be a charming with the ladies when I want!" 

Y/N looked at him, her eyes shimmering playfully. "Oh have you been practicing since I've been gone?" 

The way Spencer gulped made the other two burst out laughing. 

"Don't worry, he is still just as completely hopeless as he was before. You should see him when we go out to the bar and girls hit on him. Last time he had panicked and started talking about some kind of algebra," Morgan told her. 

Spencer flushed red. "I'm not hopeless, besides, it was advanced trigonometry. Not algebra." 

It went on like this for a while longer until the doctor told them that they could sign the two out whenever they were ready to go. Something that Y/N was eager for. She didn't want her and Alec to spend their first night out of that hell hole in the hospital if they didn't need to. 

-

By the time the jet took off in the direction of home, both Y/N and Alec were completely passed out on the couch. Spencer having become the female's person pillow. Though he must have been comfortable enough with it since it wasn't long before he too was asleep. 

"Spencer really loves that girl, doesn't he?" Emily asked as she watched them. 

Morgan nodded. "She was his entire world. I think he was planning on asking her to marry him before everything happened."

Emily looked over at him, surprised. "What makes you say that?" 

"He has a ring box that he keeps in that bag of his. It's been in there for years. He thinks no one else knows about it," Morgan told her. 

The dark haired woman shook her head slightly in disbelief. "Do you think he'll ask now that she is back?" 

"Probably not anytime soon. You never know though...wanna make a bet out of it?" Morgan asked, a mischievous smirk on his lips. 

"You're on." 

-

Waking the three up was not something that the team was looking forward to, mostly cause they honestly looked incredibly cute. JJ snuck some pics for Penelope's sake before Morgan set to waking the two adults up. He first started with Spencer, gently shaking the shoulder that didn't have Y/N's head leaning on it. 

The sleepy genius moaned in protest to being woken up, cracking his eyes slightly. There was a small mumble of "if looks could kill" from Emily as she walked past them so that she could exit the jet. The dark haired woman had a date with her bed and Sergio that she couldn't be late for. 

"Come on man, you gotta get up. We've landed," Morgan said, his tone hushed in order to not wake up Alec. "You may have to retire from your position as official pillow for the night."

Spencer face contorted in confusion until he glanced to his side to see the two sleeping. A pleasant smile crossed his features. 

Morgan shook his head slightly, a grin on his face. This brought him back to the old days for sure. "I'll leave you to wake the beast," he joked. 

Y/N had been notorious for being downright scary when woken up from much needed sleep and it was clear that she had been completely exhausted earlier. There had been multiple occasions where people had accidentally ended up with a fist to the face or had whatever object in her reach flung at their heads. Waking her up after a long case had always been a process of drawing straw until Spencer and her began openly dating. Then Morgan jokingly gave him the title of "Beast Tamer" and made it his job. 

Thankfully for Spencer, he had gotten pretty good at peacefully waking her up. He learned that it had to be a gentle process. What that entailed was poking her from great lengths or throwing lightweight items from a distance until she woke up and hopefully didn't murder him. It would be a little bit more difficult this time due to the situation he was in. His team all filing off of the jet without him made it clear that he couldn't turn to them for assistance. 

He tried subtly moving in casual ways, as if he was just happening to wake up himself. When that inevitably failed, he began quietly whispering her name and doing his best to shake her awake. 

Nothing. 

A sigh left his lips before he resorted to the method that was surely effective but deadly as well. He slowly slipped his hands to either side of her, preparing to push in and 'taze' her. 

"Spencer Reid, you have spent hours before telling me theories on how to pull of the perfect crime. Don't make test them," she grumbled, sitting up completely with a yawn. 

His hands instantly retracted leaving no visible trace that they had been there. He watched as she grabbed Alec, pulling him to her so that he would be least affected by her standing up. Poor kid had been out like a light before they even took off. The two and a half began making their way off the jet. 

"You know I never asked where you are going to be staying. I hope not a motel or anything," Spencer asked, a worried expression on his face as he took his bag, slinging so that the strap was across his chest as usual. 

Y/N shook her head slightly in response. "No, actually Hotch offered to let me stay with him for a little while." 

Spencer couldn't hide the slight surprise on his face but, nodded, now spotting Hotch's car still waiting. It was honestly probably one of the better places she could stay. Better than some cheap motel. Though Spencer never would have let them stay somewhere like that, even if it cost him some nights on the couch. 

"Good, good. It'll be good for Alec to be around kids like Jack," Spencer said. 

Y/N smiled slightly. "I thought so too." 

The rest of the walk to Hotch's car was mostly silent but, a comfortable silence. They were both simply too tired to talk. Spencer helped get Alec into set up in Jack's car seat, though they would definitely need to get Alec his own. 

"Goodnight Spencer." She said with a smile as she got into the passenger seat, the door not yet closed. 

"Goodnight. Hey I was wondering if you wanted to get breakfast or lunch or something this week? Just so I can help you catch up on everything that's happened, not like a date or anything, definitely not a date because we agreed on taking it slow and I would be really bad at taking it slow if I was already asking you on a date," he rambled. 

"Either sounds fantastic, Spence. Just let me know when you aren't busy with a case or paperwork."

He looked visibly relieved that she hadn't rejected his offer. With that, Y/N closed the car door and with a final wave between them, Spencer began walking to his own car, though he wished he had caught a ride with one of the others since he didn't particularly like driving, and Hotch drove off in the direction of his own house. 

Y/N looked over at Hotch who wasn't even bothering to hide the amused look on his face. 

"What?" 

Hotch shook his head slightly. "Nothing, nothing. It's just nice to have you back."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Saudade –  
> The feeling of intense longing for a person or place you love but is now lost. A haunting desire for what is gone.
> 
> Viraag –  
> The emotional pain of being separated from a loved one.
> 
> Bereaved-  
> The deep loss you feel at the death of a loved one
> 
> Also, an explanation for the hand thing for anyone who doesn't understand it. It's this thing my mom used to do to me and my brother when we were little. She told us that when children lied their hands turned red but, only moms and dads could see. So whenever she couldn't figure out who did something and neither of us would admit to it, she would ask to see our hands and whoever hid their hands was usually the guilty party. 
> 
> Fun fact: I almost always showed my hands without any complaint.
> 
> Another grosser fun fact: One time at a buffet, my dad gave my cousin so much jell-o that he puked jell-o everywhere.


	9. A Moment In Time

From the very first morning, it was clear that this was going to be a hard readjustment for everyone. Starting right out of the gate when Hotch went to wake Y/N up and ask her if she wanted some food only to have her spring into a full on panic attack after violently smacking his hand away from her.

Hotch was helpless to do anything except try to talk her through it from a distance because every time he moved closer to her it got worse. Her body would start shaking harder and she would plead with him to not touch her. More than anything, he wished that there was something he could do to help her. 

After what felt like an eternity for them both, Y/N managed to regain her breath and control her shaking. She then broke into tears, apologizing profusely.

"I'm so sorry...I don't know what happened I just...I thought I was there...I thought you were him and then I couldn't breath and I'm so sorry..." 

Hotch slowly approached her, careful to not startle her again. "It's fine, I knew that it wasn't going to be easy for you when I asked you to stay with me. Tell me, what can I do to keep it from happening again? Was it where I touched you or just contact in general?" He asked. 

Y/N shook her head. "Neither, I don't think. I don't mind people touching me. I was fine yesterday when people touched me...and I know that you aren't going to hurt me, that no one on the team is...I just...when I woke up I forgot where I was," she explained as best as she could, her voice still trembling slightly. 

"I understand. How about you go take a shower and get dressed, breakfast will be ready in about 20 minutes. You hungry?" 

"Yeah, a shower and some food sounds nice. About clothes though..." Y/N trailed off remembering that she didn't have anything to wear here. 

Hotch's mind seemed to have slipped over that fact as well. "I'll see if I can find any of Haley's old clothes that might fit. If not, will a sweatshirt and some sweat pants suffice?" 

She nodded in response, anything would be fine as long as it was clean. 

Hotch told her where the bathroom was before leaving to give her, her privacy which Y/N was grateful for. 

She took a moment to emotionally compose herself before heading into the bathroom. Having to tell herself that she was okay, that she was safe and that, that bastard was going to go away for a long time, that he could never hurt her again. 

It was nice and neat with everything where it was supposed to be. For the most part it looked like a very formal bathroom, besides the little traces of Jack such as a Spider-Man toothbrush beside a plain black one and the neon green step slid beside the sink. A small smile found its way onto her lips. It was all very Hotch-like. Seemingly serious at first glance until you looked a little bit harder. 

Y/N stripped off the clothes that she was wearing, glad to be rid of them since they weren't the cleanest, and set them immediately in the trash since she had no intentions to ever put them on again. They would only serve as a reminder. Hopefully, the shower and a fresh set of clothes would make her feel less like she was still in that place. She walked over to the shower and turned it on, letting the water get nice and hot before stepping in, audibly sighing when the hot water ran over her skin and through her hair. Her eyes fluttered closed and she just allowed herself to enjoy the feeling. Hot showers were one of the many things that she had missed. There had been no shower in the cellar so her form of showering was with a wash cloth and bucket of soapy water he would bring her when she complained enough, she suspected that the soap was dish soap by the smell. The process never left her feeling completely clean but, it was all she had so she would scrub her skin as best as she could. Y/N took her time with the process of getting washed, when she left the shower she felt completely refreshed both physically and emotionally. 

She took a towel from the rack, wrapping it around herself tightly. Y/N opened the door a crack to glance out and make sure that no one was out there before quickly dashing to the room that she was staying in. On the bed was a gray pair of sweatpants and a navy blue sweatshirt that looked much to big for her. It didn't take long for her to slip the clothes on but, she did have to take a couple moments to roll up both the sleeves and pant legs as well as dry her hair off a bit so she wasn't dripping water all over the place when she went downstairs. 

"Smells good," Y/N said as she walked into the kitchen, the smell of food instantly making her mouth water. 

Hotch glanced back at her. "Nice timing. Breakfast is just about done. You like pancakes right?" 

She smiled and nodded. "Who doesn't?" Y/N looked around. "Where's Jack and Alec?" 

"Jack's aunt came and picked them up a little earlier to take them to the park for a little while. They already ate," he told her as he put some of the pancakes onto a plate. 

"Why are you making so much then?" 

A knock at the door caught Y/N's attention, there was a look of 'what the hell is going on?' on her face as she looked at Hotch, who was keeping his back to her. 

"Would you mind getting that?" He asked, ignoring her question. 

Skeptically, she did as he asked. The only thing keeping her from assuming something fishy was going on was that this was Hotch. If it had been anyone else, she would be prepared for the worst as she opened up the front door. As soon as the door was open, a red haired woman came barreling into her arm, enveloping her in the tightest hug she had ever experienced. 

"Hey Pen," Y/N laughed after recovering from the shock of the sudden hug. "Damn, seeing you with red hair might just turn me. It looks good on you," she joked. 

Penelope pulled back a bit, her eyes filled with happy tears. "Don't get my hopes up or I'll propose right here to keep you from leaving me again," Penelope warned her. 

A genuine smile slipped onto her face. "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. I promise." 

"Look out Reid, Penelope is gonna steal your girl before you even have a chance to get her back," Morgan chuckled as he walked in, Spencer following close behind. 

"Sorry Spence, I just can't live without my Penelope." Y/N gave Penelope a little squeeze as she said so. 

Spencer smiled slightly at the two. "I'm not too worried. I managed to win her over before, I'll just somehow do it again." 

"Try the magic tricks or the random facts. They are both panty droppers," Morgan told him sarcastically. 

Y/N laughed softly. "Well I mean...technically they both worked." 

Garcia perked up. "Oh yeah, I always forget that boy genius managed to drop the most exclusive of panties." 

A small blush had made it's way onto Spencer's cheeks. He had never been great at talking about his sex life, mostly because he knew it was so limited in comparison to his friends. Thankfully for him, Y/N decided to change the topic for his sake. 

"Alright, let's go and eat before all of Hotch's hard work goes to waste. He has been slaving over pancakes all morning," She half-joked. 

None of them were going to complain about food, especially free food that they didn't have to make themselves. So the four of them made their way into the kitchen where Hotch had managed to stack an impressive amount of pancakes onto a single plate. They all grabbed their individual plates and began piling food on, making sure to leave enough for the man who cooked it before making their way to the dining room, all pretty eager to dig into the food. The conversation remained pretty simple at first, Morgan mentioning that JJ couldn't make it due to her having plans with her own son, them talking about some general BAU gossip as well as about the new girl that Hotch was sort of seeing, though he insisted they were just training partners. 

It felt like things were back to normal for the time being. That in this moment, they were the same as they were five years ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a simple chapter. There will probably only be one or two more before I end Waiting For Superman. Like I've said before though, this isn't the end of the series.


	10. Update

Hello everyone! It's been a while! My phone had broken and all the chapters I had written for this were completely lost. That happening kind of made me lose motivation to write. But, now I'm back! So, I am going to be continuing this series but, first I'm going to completely reboot it. I want to change some things and make it better written. After that is done, it will continue on. Quite a few things will stay the same in the series but, some small details that were plot holes or inconsistent with the actual story of Criminal Minds will be altered. This includes Emily and Y/N not knowing one another since I had forgotten that her character had already been introduced by that point. I will also be adding more to the already written chapters. Thank you all for baring with me during my long break and I hope you enjoy both the revision and continuation of Waiting For Superman :)


	11. When The Illusions Shatters

"Please don't kill me! I'm pregnant!" 

Those words slipped past her lips before she could even think about whether or not she wanted to give up this information to to the man in front of her. 

The Bloody Angel. 

Otherwise known as Jackson Campbell. The name was given to him by the media, inspired by a single white feather that was left as the scene of each crime. The name brought to mind the image of a gorgeous man with heavenly wings. However, the man that stood before her was far from that image. 

He was a man of average height, pretty stocky in build, well muscled. Strong enough to have gotten the better of her. His dirty blonde hair was cut rather short, just a little bit of it sticking to his sweaty forehead. Jackson's large hands were steady as they held onto the handgun that was pointed directly at her, aimed for her head. This man was far from an angel. He was a murderer, responsible for the death of six women. Prostitutes. Women that he had tortured, raped, and killed. 

And she was next.

The words she shouted at him as a final plea seemed to work, causing him to hesitate. His finger moved away from the trigger and the gun lowered ever so slightly. 

"You better not be lying to me! If you are I'll gut ya!" He snapped at her. 

Y/N desperately shook her head. "I'm not, I swear. Go buy a test, I'll take it. I'll take as many as you want. Just don't kill my baby," she pleaded with him. 

If she died in this basement, so would her child. She couldn't let that happen to the life inside of her. This child didn't deserve to have it's life ended simply because she was dumb enough to get herself caught. 

Without another word, Jackson turned and left the basement, leaving her behind in the cage. It was a fairly large cage, big enough for her to kneel in comfortably. He must've owned a large dog at some point. Or maybe he had bought this for the sole purpose of keeping girls hostage. As she examined her surroundings, she noticed the dried blood on the floor and on the bars of the cage. 

Careless. 

For someone who had been so meticulous about leaving no evidence at the crime scene, not at least trying to clean the blood out of his basement seemed to uncharacteristically careless. Or maybe it was just overconfident. Was he really so secure in the thought that no one would even get to the point where his house would be searched? That made more sense. 

She was the same way. Either unbelievably careless or unbelievably overconfident. Leaving to head back to the hotel in the dead of night without anything but a gun in her bag. She should have waited. Hotch had told her that if she waited another hour or so that he would give her a ride. An hour was too long though, at least it had felt that way at the time. Now she regretted not finding something to preoccupy her for a short hour. It was foolish of her to go out at that time after making a public appearance at a press conference on the matter. How could she have been so careless? So cocky?

She rested her forehead against the cool bars and closed her eyes, sighing softly. Once she had scolded Spencer for his own carelessness, now she would do anything to hear his voice telling her that she was an idiot, to have him hold her just a little too tight. She would give anything to feel his warmth and take in the familiar scent of his cologne. Absolutely anything. 

The door opening made her look up, a small part of her hoping that it would be her team coming through the door but, instead it was that blond man who she already hated the sight of. He dropped a bag in front of the cage. 

"Take 'me. All of 'em," he commanded in a gruff voice. 

Taking the bag, she proceeded to use all five pregnancy tests, trying to ignore the eyes that bore into her. Did he think that she was planning on faking the tests? It wasn't like she could even if she wanted to. 

She kept her eyes down even after she set down the last test, waiting for the results to come up. The last time she had done this it had been so much different. She had felt excited, butterflies had danced in her stomach as she sat with Penelope and JJ. Now...now she was filled with fear that the tests would produce a false negative and she would be shot on the spot. 

A sigh of relief left her when the tests all came up positive. She looked up at Jackson as his jaw tightened. It was clear he wanted to kill her but, that would go against his morals as a religious man. There was no way he would be able to justify killing a baby. 

"See, I'm pregnant. It's just like I told you. So please...please let me go," she said softly. 

After a moment, he shook his head. "No can do, sweetheart. There is no doubt you'd tell your little profiler friends who I am and then I would be caught." 

"Why are you hiding if you think you are doing the right thing? Wouldn't you want them to know your identity?" She asked him. 

"I don't need for them to know who I am, for I am simply doing as the lord bids and if everyone knew who I was, they would stop me from cleansing the streets of those whores." 

Y/N bit her bottom lip. So there would be no luck in goading him into revealing himself. 

"So...what are you going to do with me?" She asked him, her voice low and quivering more than she would have liked. 

"Well, I can let ya go and I can't kill ya...so it looks like you'll be staying with me for a bit. Just until the baby is born. After that your survival depends on you." 

Nine months. That was how long she had to find a way out of there or to be found. She could handle that...she hoped. 

-

Watching Spencer pace back and forth was starting to make JJ dizzy. 

"Spencer, please, sit down."

Her voice was soft and insistent, surprisingly steady despite the panic that was growing within her. How could she not be panicked? Her close friend and teammate was missing, possibly kidnapped. It was not the time to succumb to her own feelings. Not with Spencer here. Speaking of, the tall man had ignored her but, he had stopped pacing. 

Running his fingers through his hair, he stared at the papers in his hands. Each one contained a detailed report of the victims. It was easy to tell that Spencer was imagined each bruise and cut documented on the body of his beloved. 

"If I don't sleep then I should be able to figure it out in time. I have to figure it out in time," he mumbled to himself as he read over the reports once more.

JJ rested her hand on his shoulder in an attempt to provide him some support. "Spence, we'll find her, I promise. She is going to be okay," she assured him. 

Even though she said these things so confidently, it was hard to believe them when they have absolutely no leads to point them in the right direction. Not only that but, they had a deadline of two days before her body was supposed to show up in some public area. Well, probably closers to thirty-five hours at this point. 

"You can't know that for sure...there is no way to know that she'll be okay. He's probably already hurt her," he said, his whole body tense. 

After a moment he broke away from her and went over to a board with bits of evidence pinned to it, focusing on the geographical information that he had previously put together. 

"Being in that kind of situation...it can really do things to someone..." he added. 

He was speaking from experience. It hadn't been all that long ago that he himself was taken by an unsub that they were being chasing, Tobias Hankel. It had taken him quite a while to recover from the wounds left from his time as a captive, both physical and emotional. In truth, he was still recovering. 

A knock at the conference room door caught their attention, hope in their eyes as a young looking officer walked into the room. He carried in his hand a manilla envelope, the words 'Spencer Reid' written in all capitals in what appeared to be sharpie. 

"You're Dr. Reid, right? This arrived here for ya." The officer held out the envelope which Spencer accepted with a quiet thanks.

Spencer looked over the envelope, checking for any kind of sign of it being something dangers before opening it. He reached inside and pulled out a picture, seeing the back first. The words written on the back made his heart ache in worry. 

'Hope you don't mind an empty casket.' 

Reluctantly, he turned the photo over and immediately his face paled. He looked as if he was going to be sick. Spencer slammed he picture down on the table before walking away from it. His entire body was quivering, his lips desperately pressed tightly against one another to keep his emotions from spilling out. 

JJ gently picked up the picture, gasping softly when she saw it. Tears prickling at her eyes. Laying on the ground in a puddle of blood was the exact woman that they were looking for. There was just so much blood. It was hard to believe that so much blood was even inside of a person. She shakily put the picture down before turning her attention to the taller man. His arms were wrapped around himself and his face was focused on the ground, each breath sounded like he was desperately trying to keep them under control. 

"Spence..." she started, reaching out her hand to him. 

"Call Hotch." 

JJ walked towards him slowly. "I will. Are you okay?" 

"Of course I'm not okay but, we have to catch this bastard and the longer we stand here doing nothing the more likely we never will," Spencer said, his voice having a harsh edge to it despite the way that it shook. 

"Okay, okay. I'll call him." She took out her phone and left the room, standing outside of it to give her friend a couple moments to compose herself. 

As she clicked on Hotch's contact, holding the phone to one ear, the sound of soft sobs reached the other. Not even the door between them able to completely suppress the noises. They only further shattered JJ's heart. When the familiar stoic man finally answered, she could only breathe out the words that she didn't want to say. 

"She's gone. Y/N is dead." 

And now, it was real. Any illusion she may have had was completely shattered.

-

'Why is my bed so bumpy?' Y/N wondered groggily as her eyes slowly opened, only to be greeted by complete darkness. 

The realization that she wasn't home and wasn't anywhere familiar was like being doused in ice cold water. As was trying to move her arms only to find that both they and her legs were bound. 

Panic set in. 'What the hell? Where am I?' were among her immediate thoughts before the memories surfaced. 

Right, she was being held by the bloody angel. It only took her a couple of moments to realize that she was now in the trunk of a car. So where was he taking her? It killed her to know that all she could do for the time being was wait to find out. 

It seemed as if whatever luck remained for her came into play as the car slowed down before stopping altogether. 

The sound of heavy boots approached after the car door slammed shut and once the trunk opened, light streamed in and stung her eyes. 

"No point in screaming. There is no one around to hear you and it'll just piss me off." 

She desperately looked behind him for any kind of hint to where they were but, it was nothing but a long stretch of empty road. 

Jackson held out a bottle of water. "Open up. You're gonna be in here for a while and the baby will need water."

"You first," Y/N said, her eyes suspiciously narrowed at him.

It took him a second before he scoffed. He lifted the bottle to his lips and took a swig. "Happy, princess?" 

"I'm content for now," she responded, allowing him to place the bottle against her lips so that she could get a few sips. 

"See? I'm not so bad a guy. Now I gotta go back to driving. Keep behaving and I'll bring you something nice and tasty for lunch." 

All Y/N did was look away from him, biting her tongue to keep from saying anything that would put her in a bad situation. Worse situation. As the trunk closed once more, all she could do was hope that her team would save her soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel as if this is waaay better than the original first chapter. Though who knows. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy it and will continue to stay with me as I revamp the series! 
> 
> Also, I'm wondering if anyone gets like really excited when they see me update? Is that a thing? 
> 
> Anyways, feel free to comment or whatever ^^


	12. A New Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! New chapter is up! Once all the up to date chapters are up, I'm going to delete or at least hide the old ones :) I hope you guys like the new content! I wanted to give a bit more insight to Alec, Jackson, and Y/N. I feel like I rushed things a lot before and wanted to take my time a bit more. I hope it's good!

Standing at the front of a large projector screen with a clicker in hand was Penelope Garcia. This was common for her now, going over cases with the team. However, her heart was fluttering with nerves and the clicker in her hand was a little bit sweatier than it should have been. Her team was looking down at their own individual tablets where they could get a closer look at the evidence being presented to them. Well, all of them except for a certain Spencer Reid who insisted on having a paper copy rather than using a tablet. Penelope wasn't about to argue with the genius if the paper copy made things easier for him. 

"Rebecca Jefferson, age 26, was found beaten, raped, and shot in the head two days ago. Her body was left in a park where she was found by Andrew Conway who had been walking his dog."

Morgan looked up at the colorfully dressed woman. "Not to sound insensitive but, what's special about this case? Can the local police not handle it on their own?" He asked with a quirked eyebrow. 

Hesitating slightly, Penelope answered him. "They called us in because of something that they found at the crime scene...there was...a single white feather found at the scene."

That was all she needed to say for a cold chill to run through a majority of the members. Their eyes shifting over to Spencer with concern clear in them. 

Hotch cleared his throat, asking the question they all were thinking. "So you think that 'The Bloody Angel' has made a reappearance after all these years?" He asked. 

"I think so. The M.O. is the same, the victims match the previous ones, and there is the signature. This is the biggest lead that we have gotten the past five years." 

The victims were incredibly similar. Just like the last batch they were both exceptionally pretty young girls who weren't afraid to show off their bodies. 

"It could always be a copycat..." Emily spoke up, not wanting anyone to get their hopes up. 

Penelope shook her head slightly. "That's not very likely. The original killings were only locally broadcasted, these ones are all the way up in Connecticut. I promise, I wouldn't have brought it up if I didn't think that there was a really good shot that this is the same unsub."

 

"Well then...wheels up in thirty," Hotch said as he stood up. 

-

The small tv in the corner of the mostly cement room was softly playing the news, a pretty blonde woman was sat next to a well groomed man, facing forward despite speaking to each other. It was clear that they were reading off the teleprompter as they weren't even bothering to look natural.

'Must be having a bad day,' Y/N thought, with the next bit of news, she understood why. 

However, their delivery wasn't what was important to Y/N. She cared much more about the information that they were delivering. 

"-found by a man walking his dog Friday morning." 

"Police have been investigating the homicide but, if they have any suspects they aren't saying." 

"It's just awful. Such a young life, cut so short."

Y/N already knew who the culprit was without any need for an investigation. As if on cue, the metal door squeaked open, a small boy bounding towards her with bright eyes at it did. Behind him stood the man behind the murder, the man she hated most in the world. Despite this, she smiled sweetly as the boy launched himself into her arms. 

"Mama! Mama! I missed you so much!" The young boy exclaimed as he nuzzled against her. 

Y/N held him close, feeling as if the only time he was safe was when he was wrapped in her arms. "I missed you too Alec, baby. How was school?" 

Alec pulled back enough that she could see his face as he beamed up at her with his crooked smile. "We are going to be doing play, Mama!" 

"Oh yeah? What play is it?" She asked him, stroking his hair gently. 

"Snow White! I wanted to play Snow White because she is super nice but, Mandy got to play her," he said, pouting slightly. "Mandy isn't nice at all! But she has black hair so she gets to play her."

A fake look of complete shock crossed her face. "Is that so?" 

He nodded. "Yeah...I get to play one of the dwarfs though! Even though we aren't really dwarves since everyone is the pretty much the same height," Alec told her, very matter of factly. 

"A dwarf is a much better role for you anyway, kid. A boy shouldn't be playing Snow White," a gruff voice spoke from behind the boy. 

Alec looked over with confusion, cocking his head slightly. "What does it matter that I'm a boy? All that you need to play Snow is to be really fair," he told the older man. 

"It just does. She's a girl so she should be played by a gi-" Jackson started, getting s bit annoyed that he was being questioned. 

"Even if you didn't get the part you want, the important part is that you have fun and try your best," Y/N cut in before leaning down next to the boy's ear, whispering softly so only he could hear. "Tonight before bed we'll read Snow White and you can read her parts, okay?"

Alec nodded eagerly. He loved reading stories with his mama almost as much as he loved hearing the stories that she made up for him. 

"Alec, hun, why don't you go play on your own for a couple of minutes. Your father and I have something to talk about," she told him. 

"Okay, Mama," Alec said as he slid off of her lap and made his way towards a box of toys that were in the corner of the room. They were all a little old since most of his new toys were in his room but, he still liked them since he got to play with them with his mama. 

 

Y/N turned her attention to Jackson, her eyes which had been soft and gentle only moments ago were now burning with hatred. "I saw the news." 

"What about it?" He asked her. 

"You know exactly 'what about it'. You killed that girl." 

He sneered at her. "So what if I did? What's it matter to ya?" He asked 

Frustration filled her at his dismissive words. "If you cause any trouble for my son because of this, I swear to god, I'll-"

"You'll what? Kill me? Darlin', we both know that if you could'a then I would be long dead by now," he told her, his sneer turning into a smirk. "Ya know, maybe I'll take the boy out with me one of these days. Show 'im how we handle whores." 

"You sick son of a bitch," she spat at him, eyes narrowed. 

"I don't like the attitude you are starting to get. Don't forget, I can make y'er life a living hell," he told her, grabbing her thin face in his hand, his grip tight enough that she wouldn't be surprised if there were light bruises beginning to blossom. 

Despite the fire the boiled in her veins and venom that tingled on her tongue, she resisted the urge to snap back at him. Best case scenario, he would beat her. Worst case scenario, he would keep Alec away from her like last time. She couldn't let that happen again. She had to keep her baby boy close by. Had to keep him safe. 

When he finally let go, she rubbed her face. "Much better. Y'er a lot prettier when that mouth of yours is shut. Maybe I should find some more fun ways to keep you quiet..." he mused, brushing his thumb against her bottom lip. 

It took all she had not to bite him. 

"Alec-" she started, reminding him that the boy was down there with them. 

Jackson rolled his eyes. "I ain't gonna do nothin' with the boy down here. I may pay a visit after he's gone to preschool though," he told her. 

The mere thought made her stomach churn in disgust. She kept this to herself and looked away. "Can I go spend time with my son now?" She asked him. 

"Fine. G'it." 

Y/N didn't waste time heading over to her boy and wrapping her arms around him and kissing his cheek as she asked him what he was doing. Though it was clear to see as he colored in a picture of a dog with a broken red crayon. 

She didn't bother to look back as the metal door shut behind her. She only had so much time to spend with Alec before his father would collect him for dinner time and there was no way that she was going to waste a single second more of it on that man. 

Instead, she picked up a green crayon at the young boy's urging and began coloring in the part of his tail that he had told her to. All too soon, the picture was done and Alec presented it to his mother as a present, a large grin on his face. 

"Here! You can keep it so that you have something to think of me while I'm at school and so you won't be lonely!" He announced as he ripped it out and held it out to her. 

Feeling her heart swell, she smiled down at him and stroked his shaggy hair affectionately. "Thank you, Alec. I'll treasure it," she told him and took the picture. 

"Hey, mama...will you be able to come and see my play?" He asked her, excited. "I know I'm only a dwarf but, I want you to come!" 

His brown puppy dog eyes looked up at her so expectantly, reminding her so much of him. It made giving her answer so much harder to do. 

"Alec..." she started, uncertain how to best tell him. "You know I can't. I'm sick so it's not safe for me to leave the house," she lied, 

This was the explanation she had provided to him the first time he asked why she always stayed down in the basement. That she was weak and sick. That leaving the house wasn't safe for her. Even going upstairs was a risk. With blind faith, the boy had accepted the answer. 

His face fell and he looked down at the ground. "I know, mama...I'm sorry. I just really wanted you to see it so you could be proud of me..." 

'Ouch...my heart...' 

"I don't need anything extra to make me proud of you. You make me proud every day. How about, we can have your father record it so that I'll be able to see it," she suggested, gently caressing his cheek. 

"Okay..." 

The disappointment was evident in his tone. 

It made her feel like an awful mother. She wanted more than anything to be in the crowd of parents, smiling and filming her son. She wanted to take him to the park and go to parent teacher conferences. She wanted to be there for him whenever he needed but, she couldn't. Instead, she was trapped down here. 

"You know what? I was just thinking that it's been a very long time since I've told you a story about the knights. Would you like to hear one?" Y/N asked him. 

This perked the boy up and he eagerly nodded. 

She smiled. "Alright. This one is about a young maiden who was being stalked by an evil shadow." 

Alec couldn't help but pipe up. "Oh! Oh! Is this a story where Sir Spencer gets to be the hero? Those are my favorite!" 

"I don't want to spoil it for you but...it's definitely a pretty high possibility," Y/N told him. 

The story continued on, Alec occasionally slipping in comments when he felt they were needed. He threw a pretty big stink when Y/N revealed that the maiden and Sir Spencer had kissed on another. 

"But mama! How could Sir Spencer do that to Lady Y/N?! Didn't he know that would make her sad?" He asked with knit eyebrows. 

Y/N shook her head in response. "Sir Spencer didn't know how Lady Y/N felt when he kissed the maiden." 

The young child thought about her answer for a few moments, trying to decide if this made Sir Spencer's actions forgiveable in his eyes. Eventually, he nodded slowly in acceptance. 

Once she had gotten this response, Y/N launched into the finale of the story. How the shadow had turned out to be the maiden's trusted friend the entire time. This earned a good gasp from Alec that she found rather amusing. She continued on, explaining how Sir Spencer saved the maiden by vanquishing the evil shadow without having to lay a single hand on her. 

"Sir Spencer is so cool Mama! I may be able to forgive him for kissing a girl that isn't Lady Y/N." 

A soft laugh fell from her lips at her son's words. "Well I'm glad you can find it in your heart to be so forgiving," she responded. 

Alec was practically bouncing in excitement. "Can you tell me another story, please!" 

"Of course, let me think of one you haven't hea-" she started before the heavy door swinging open cut her off. 

"Alec. It's supper time," Jackson said. 

Alec pouted slightly and nodded, making his way towards the door to go and eat his food. He new if he ate all of his food fast that he would be able to go back down and hear more stories before bed so he didn't protest.

With a slight sadness in her eyes, Y/N watched him make his way up the cement stairs. Alec was her only reminder that there was really any good left in the world, the only thing that kept her sane. It was pathetic to be so reliant on a child but, every time he left she couldn't help but feel like he took every ounce of happiness with him. 

It wasn't an exaggeration for her to say that Alec was the last slice of hope that she had left. 

And maybe, just maybe. He would realize as he got older that his mother wasn't sick. That it wasn't normal for one parent to never leave the basement. Maybe he wouldn't but, he would accidentally slip up and say something that worried someone. Anyone. She couldn't help but have these hopes even if she knew that was far too much pressure to put on a little boy. He never asked to be her sliver of hope, her silver lining and while she didn't want to place him in that role. She wasn't able to stop herself. 

She didn't need to try and understand why it was just so easy for her to think of the young child in such a role. She merely had to run her fingers through the familiar brown hair or look into his dark eyes.

He was her hope because his father had always been.


End file.
